How can I receive the power of the Holy Spirit of God? Must I labour and prove myself worthy? Must I plead with God on bended knees for it? Must I afflict my soul by fasting and self-denial to merit it? Never! That is not the teaching of the new testament Scripture! Think again. How did we receive the forgiveness of our sins? Paul tells us it was according to the riches of His grace and that His grace was "Freely bestowed on us in the Beloved, which is Christ." We did nothing to deserve it other than to continue to sin from out of our evil nature and to qualify ourselves as sinners! God's word testifies to the fact that without the death of a sacrifice and the shedding of blood, there can be no forgiveness of God for sin. We did not die for ourselves by shedding our blood to atone for our sins; Jesus did!

We have received the forgiveness of our sins from the shedding of the precious blood of Jesus alone and our atonement is on the basis of what He has achieved for us plus nothing else! What then is Scripture's basis for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit? It is on exactly the same basis! It is based on the exaltation and glorification of the Lord Jesus plus nothing else! Because the Lord Jesus died on the Cross all my sins are forgiven. Because the Lord Jesus rose again from the dead for me, I am born again! Because the Lord Jesus has been glorified for me, I am baptised with His Holy Spirit and endued with power from on high.Because of all that He achieved back then, I have now. All is from Jesus! All is through Jesus! All is because of Jesus! May our thanks be to God alone for His most marvellous and wonderful Gift! That gift is none other than the Christ of God himself! That gift of grace is Jesus!